I’ve wanted to read this for two years. TWO years.

And gahhhhh did it not disappoint.. that much? I know. Let me explain!!

Okay okay okay the book was so cute and ajdjsjsjsjsj and full of feelings and smushy feelings, but I felt a little underwhelming? I think that is was the perfect contemporary, but I just feel that not much happened?? Idk…

I think that because there was SO much hype it was really hard for me to love it as much as I could have because there was(is)so much hype. I still really enjoyed it though, even loved it, and there was so many smushy fangirl moments. I can’t even. But yes, a little overhyped? A smidge?

simon: he was adorable. He was brilliant. He was so witty and funny and has such a good sense of humour. He was super sweet, and had such a great relationship with Abby and Nick, and Leah who will always be supportive of him. I felt that he got crushes on people really quickly though, and at first he didn’t really see what was right in front of him, but I’m so glad that it all worked out in the end! He overthinks things (relate) but it wasn’t really heavy stuff/intense?! He was just so light-hearted and giving people hugs and just being generally adorable.

his family:a w e s o m e. They were just such a lovely family?? And I love how Becky Albertalli includes families into her YA books and they are actually a big part of the book, and they were in her other book ‘The Upside of Unrequited‘ and I think that it’s really refreshing to read. Also Simon’s family was crazy/awkward and it was just brilliant.

his friends: Nick was nice, but I don’t think that we saw enough of his personality in this book as much as we saw the personality of Abby and Leah. All we really knew about him was that he liked video games, but was more interested in playing the guitar and singing and was really nice and had been friends with Simon for ages. I think that Abby was amazing, and she was so funny (like Simon), and a really understanding person, while Leah was rather insecure about things (not that she can’t be insecure, because everyone is entitled to insecurities) but she often wouldtake things out on people and would get annoyed with people: get really jealous…

Spoiler-ish comment??

(she would get annoyed with them hanging out without her yet she would hang with them and not tell Simon and he wouldn’t have been able to say how it made him feel without her getting defensive???) AND SHE WOULD KEEP THINGS FROM HIM, BUT THEN GET ANNOYED WHEN HE DIDN’T COME OUT TO HER FIRST?? EXCUSE ME?? WHAT. DOUBLE STANDARD MUCH, DARLING?

…and I feel like she caused drama unnecessarily??? AND SO. NEEDY. But I think that she really started to grow towards the end and I started to like her a bit more. But yeah, I didn’t like her much though. And also I’m really wanting to read ‘Leah on the off beat’ to get a bit more about her so I can understand her a bit more!!

the romance(s)

I think that it’s great how this book wasn’t just focussed on Simon’s relationships. I think that we saw almost as much of everyone else’s relationship as much as we did Simons!!

For me, I think that the romances happened very late in the book, and it all just ended too soon. I think that it all just happened and then boom. end of book. And I think that’s what made me most underwhelmed about this book. I LOVED IT. I just thought that it all ended a little fast. THAT’S ALL.

I SHIP THEM SO MUCH OKAY?

But I was suchhhhhh a fangirl while reading this book. I honestly was rooting for am sot everyone and everyone and whenever something happened I would just flail and at one point I actually went “maaaaaaa” when I was reading because of all the feels. MY HEART CAN’T TAKE THE EMOTIONS?? OKAY?

I literally shipped this books SO HARD. I was a bit “meh” about Blue at some stages because I was like PLEASE. JUST. HUG SIMON OKAY. And I thought that it was a little unfair that they wouldn’t really reciprocate Simon’s openness about their identity, but you can’t really hold that against him because obviously it would have been hard for him.

ALSO CAN WE QUICKLY MENTION THE POSITIVE ONLINE FRIENDSHIP? THANKS.

the rep/diversity

I think that the LGBTQ+ was represented so well in this book. There were aspects in this book that were horrible, but I like how they were dealt with in a realistic way, and how the book formally stated that what had happened was wrongand that people—no matter what their sexual orientation—should NOT be treated that way.

There was even a really lighthearted way of mentioning of gender roles, and how Becky Albertalli mentioned that was a really unique and comical to read! There was also PoC(s) which is great to see in a book too! And there was also someone who was a bit bigger than some of the rest and I think that, even though the character wasn’t my favourite’s because of her attitudes to others, it was still really nice to see people in books that aren’t all the same size. And I personally really like to see that in books since it’s not a very common.

all the food.

Oreos. waffles. Ice-cream. Popcorn. Sorry all this food was mentioned and it was DIVINE. Thank you, Becky Albertalli, for making me SO GODDAMNED HUNGRY while reading. Boy, I have never been so starved while reading. I’m pretty sure there was some drool on the page when they were eating waffles* because they were described so scrummily**

So if you’re gonna read this, read it for the food okay? OKAY?

*I’m kidding.. . or am I? I’d actually cry if there was tho. **is that a word? it is now.

Have you read this? What did you think of the romance? What did you think of Leah? Did you like all the food mentioned? have you read anything by the same author? Do you think that this was slightly over-hyped too? Is this on your TBR? Let me know!

I didn’t desire it to end! Quick read, well composed and appealing. Cannot wait to read the next book. I also suggest to read https://bit.ly/2l1cGHY STEPHANIE Carrol . PS: I like your blog. Thank you so much

I felt like not much happened as well – I thought I was alone on this!! And the romance did happen a bit too late – I think a quick 20 added pages or so would’ve fixed that a bit. Love how they met online because that’s so realistic in this day and age!! Great review 🙂

ILOVEDTHISBOOOOOOK as you know and I do get you about the ending but I don’t know how well it would have worked, or what direction it would have taken, had we seen the relationship develop after its beginning. I also think that the friendship and romance was HFDSHUHFHSHGOUSH AMAZINGGGG I LOVED IT OKAY CAN I JUST SCREAM THANKS I WANT A BLUE I JUST AAARGHH

I’m glad you managed to get around to this one eventually Lu, and so so so glad you loved it after wanting to pick it up for so long as well! 😀
Simon Vs is one of my favourite contemporary books, and Becky Albertalli definitely one of my favourite authors. I love how she incredible diversity and incredible family relationships, her books don’t just focus on the romance (though she writes and incredible romance I have to admit) but so much more which makes them stand out from the other contemporaries out there in my opinion.
Basically this is a brilliant book, and how excited are you for the Love, Simon movie now?! 😀 ❤
Great review. 🙂

I’m screaming because YES THIS BOOK IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL, AND DESERVES ALL THE UNICRON, AND RAINBOWS IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, and also because yOUR BLOG!! Your blog is amazing, like it is so pretty!!

And your review is so spot on, like hello are you a mind reader or smthing?? yeah leah was pretty annoying, because she was a drama queen, but like you said i did want to read the book revolves around her. AND FROM A SCALE OF 1-10 HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR THE MOVIE????? 😀

Personally I didn’t feel like this book was overhyped, I absolutely adored it, and have nothing but good to say about it, though I do completely get were you’re coming from.
And yeah, Leah was… a bit of a hypocrite, and really not my favourite. I’m looking forward to Leah on the Offbeat though, and am hoping I’ll like her more in that one…

I just read this book, and I’m so in love with Simon! He’s the most adorable ever, and his family is so cute! I ship Simon and Blue so much! They’re so cute and ALL THE FEELS.
Also, I can’t wait for Leah on the Offbeat! I think it’s going to be so amazing to see things from Leah’s perspective and keep up with Simon and Blue’s story.
I kind of also might need more Nick and Abby. Especially Abby.

OMG YES SIMON AND BLUE ARE ADORABLE TOGETHER AND SIMON… BLESS HIS HEART.

OMG YES I REALLY WANT TO READ THAT!! Thing is, I’m not really keen on her, but I want to understand her more, or I might just end up hating her more aha. BUT yes omg MORE OF SIMON AND BLUE and more Nick and ABBY!!!!

YES YES YES I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it! I really loved this book, it was a sweet and adorable read and I wanted to hug all of the characters, especially Simon ❤ I kind of agree as well about your comment on Leah, I can't wait to read the new book about Leah being released to get to know her a bit more and maybe understand her as well. AND YES ALL THE FOOD, this book made me smile and made me really hungry for all the oreos in the world, haha. Great review! 😀

YAAAAAAYYYYYY LU YOU FINALLY READ IT!!!!!! I’m so so so glad you liked it, but I totally get what you mean when you say you’re feeling underwhelmed! I’ve been meaning to read this one for years and years and while I loved it from beginning to end and gave it an easy 5 stars, it still didn’t WOW me like I expected it to….. if that makes any sense????? I feel like ~something~ was missing and I expected so much MORE after hearing all this praise and stuff!! BUT I STILL LOVED IT. AND I LOVE SIMON AND BLUE SO MUCH THEY’RE ADORABLE AND I’M SO EXCITED FOR THE MOVIE ADNSJFDGKSN I FEEL LIKE IT’LL BE A LOT BETTER THAN THE BOOK or maybe this is just my overexcited gay self speaking hehe :’)

Thank youuuu!! YOU’VE BEEN SCREAMING AT ME TO READ IT AND I FINALLY DID AHAH.
Yeah, exactly, it didn’t give me the “wow”!! BUT YES IT’S JUST SO CUTE AND ADORABLE ADN SMUSHY AND THEY’RE SO CUTE TOGETHER AND I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE MOVIE!!!!